They’re hibernating, so I am whispering!
This is one of the pre-posts in preparation for the six-week bee-blog. So welcome to the site – why not be the first to comment.
The solitary bees are in their cocoons, in the final phases of their metamorphosis, waiting for their clocks to say it is time to emerge. It will probably be in the first half of March as their parents did last year, depending on the temperature.
I can’t be sure of the exact numbers that have ‘made’ it to cocoon stage at this point in time, but the clear plastic tubes containing them seem to promise at least the same numbers as last year. To count the cocoons, I would have to take out all the tubes from the box and clean away the debris – the dry mud plugs and uneaten pollen – which obscures the clear viewing of what lies preciously within. However, I am not sure this is a good idea at the moment .
So I will stop here post my first post, and let the little bees sleep on undisturbed. They need their rest as they are going to be fairly busy, and perhaps more famous than most other little bees that have come and flown.